Carbon monoxide purifier and muffler



Oct. 8,1940. H OYCE 2,216,763

CARBON MONOXIDE PUR IFIER AND MUFFLER Filed June 25, 1939 mrentor: 4 Hiram H Boyce Alla/"nay Patented Oct. 8, 1940 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CARBON MONOXIDE PURIFIER AND MUFFLER.

Hiram H. Boyce, Denver, 0010., assignor of onehalf to Glenn W. Pierce, Denver, Colo.

Application June 3,1939, Serial No. 277,263

2 Claims. (Cl. 183-46) This invention relates to improvements in car Figure 5 is a transverse section taken on lines bon monoxide purifiers and mufiiers of a type de- 55 Figure 1; signed for use more especially with gasoline Figure 6 is a transverse section taken on line driven automobiles. 6-6, Figure 1; 5 It is well known that exhaust gases from au- Figure '7 is a section taken on line 1-1, Fis- 5 tomobile engines contain a big percentage of carure 1; bon monoxide gas, which, as is well known, is F gure 8 is a fr m ry p n vi w howin very poisonous and is responsible for a large the cover of the filter element; and number of deaths each year. Figure 9 is a fragmentary view showing the 10' It has, for a long time, been recognized that a foraminated bottom of the filter elemen 10 great service would be done by anyone who could n e draw reference n l e devise a practical means for converting the monnates an elongated tubular member which, in oxide gas in engine exhausts into harmless the embodiment shown, is cylindrical and nucarbon dioxide and for this purpose various inmeral ll designates an end wall or closure that vcntions have been made and patented. is permanently attached to the tubular member 15 The exhaust from an internal combustion eny rivets it y be SD W in p o gine of the gasoline type is very noisy unless The end closure l l is provided with an opening mufiled by a suitable apparatus and it is therel3, which, for the purpose of this description will fore customary to provide all automobile gas ene co s de e as t e inlet Ope Positioned gines with mumer to red th n i 1 the in the other end of the tubular member is a 20 exhau t, closure l l of the same shape and size as the one It, i an bject f thi in nti to produce 9, already described and which, therefore, has been device that shall be especially well adapted for designated y a s r r fere ce numeral. The use in neutralizing carbon monoxide exhaust Opening n h last mentioned end wall will be gases and also to reduce the noise of the exhaust. Considered as the Ou Op he end wall 25 It is another object of this invention to pro at e outlet is r va y h in place y means duce a device of the type indicated which shall of ts or other qu n m a s. At the be so cgnstructed that the chemicals employed intake cild Of the muiiler, a baffle plate OI diilusel' for neutralizing or oxidizing the carbon monoxl5 has behn ShOWH- is D e has also been ide can be readfly replaced when consumed by Shown in side elevation in Figure 5, from which 30 t Chemical ti that is constantly taking it will be seen that it is provided with a plurality i I of openings 16. This diffuser or baille serves to A still further object of this invention is to break p h gas s r as i enters hr h he produce a device which shall be very effective p g 3 and assists greatly in Obtaining s for the purpose of reducing the noises from the lent operatio The bflfile Plate y he p 35 exhaust and which shall be so constructed and Welded in Po as it does not have to be reof such size that it can be readily substituted lor moved- Positioned a Short distflnsc t0 the right the mufflers now employed. 0i bafile plate I5, is a transverse partition I"! The above and other objects that may appear which may also be spotwelded in position. In 40 as this description proceeds are attained by the drawing a diagonal brace 18 has been shown, 40 means of a construction and an arrangement of which is p e t y attached to the partition parts that will now be described in detail, and for at The function of s br ce s primarily to this purpose reference 111 b h t t accotm space the transverse partition the right distance panying drawing in which the invention has been from the baiile p TWO P r angle irons ilustrated in its preferred form, and in which: Or s e other equ valent means are secured 45 Figure 1 is a longitudinal diametrical s ti to one side of the transverse partition l1 and through the gas neutralizer and mufiler; m w n their Opp g a s EL oove or Figure 2 is a top plan view of the filter elerecess to which reference will hereafter be made. ment looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig- Secured to the inner surface of the tubular memure 1. parts being broken away to better disclose her ID are two longitudinally extending strips 2|. 50

the construction; provided with spaced inwardly extending flanges Figure 3 is an end view looking in the direc- 22 and which serve as guideways for the reception of arrow 3, in Figure 1; tion of the flanges 23 of the longitudinally ex- Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on line tending partition which is shown in top plan 4-4 Figure 1; view in Figure 2. This partition may be a cast- 5 ing and is provided with spaced longitudinally extending walls 24 and spaced transversely extending walls 25 that'form a grid having rectangular pockets 26 for thereceptionof thechemicals which serve to neutralize the carbon monoxide and also to muiile the exhaust. It will be seen that the flanges 23 of the guide or partition are provided with grooves 21 on their inner surfaces and these serve to receive the edges of the foraminated bottom 23. Some of the transverse partitions 25 are provided with lugs 29 that, in turn, are provided with threaded openings 30 for the reception of screws 3| that serve to hold the reticulated cover 32 in place on the top of the grid-like frame. The cover 28 is desirable for the reason that it retains the chemicals in place during handling and shipment of the device and also prevents the chemicals from being forcibly removed from the pockets 26 by explosions taking place in the exhaust pipe, which sometimes occur when a charge in one or more of the cylinders fails to ignite.

In the drawing the bottom has been shown as provided with a few openings or holes, but in the actual construction, the foraminations in the bottom are comparatively small and in greater number than would appear from an inspection of the drawing.

The grid-like member which has been described is positioned by being slidably inserted into the guideways in members 2| and the front end of the partition is positioned between the transverse angles 20 so that this partition or grid will be removably secured to the interior of. the tubular member in in such a way that it divides the latter into two compartments, one of which is shown below the grid-like partition and the other above. After the grid-like partition has been put into place, a transverse partition 33 is inserted through the open end ofthe tubular member and so adjusted rotarily that the corresponding end flange of the grid-like partition enters the space between the angles 20. It will now be seen that the interior of the tubular member is divided into two compartments as explained and that any gas passing from one to the other must pass through the pockets 26 and through the chemicals that are contained in them. The transverse partition I1 is provided with several openings 34 which establish communication between the inlet 13 and the compartment below the guide partition while the transverse partition 33 has corresponding openings 35 that communicate with the compartment above the grid partition. After the partition 33 has been put into place, a spacer ring 36 is then inserted, after which the foraminated baffle or diffuser plate [5 is inserted and positioned in contact with the ring 36. Another ring, which has been designated by reference numeral 31, is now inserted, after which the removable end wall is put into position and secured in place by the bolts or screws 14.

The device above described, when assembled in the manner shown in Figure 1, forms a filter and mufller element that can be inserted in the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine in the same manner as is nowdone with the ordinary mufflers and the pockets 26 are filled with chemicals which have been indicated in a general way by reference numeral 33 and these chemicals, 01' which several are well known, have the properties of neutralizing carbon monoxide and changing it to carbon dioxide and therefore when exhaust gases containing carbon monoxide pass through this muiiler, they will be rendered harmless due to the oxidizing action of the chemicals, and in this way the danger of monoxide poisoning is greatly reduced, if not entirely eliminated.

In my copending application, Serial No. 213,435, filed June 13, 1938, a monoxide neutralizing apparatus has been shown in which the neutralizing chemicals are charcoal, calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide and calcium sulfate and for the purpose of this explanation the chemicals 33 may be considered the same as those enumerated, although any other chemicals that will serve the purpose can be employed.

Attention is called to the fact that with the present construction, the longitudinally extending grid-like partition can be removed quite readily by first taking out the bolts l4 and removing the end wall at the outlet end of the mufller. Ring 31, transverse baiile plate I5, ring 36 and transverse partition 33 can then readily be removed after which the grid-like partition can be withdrawn through the open end, the flanges 21 being guided in the guides illustrated in Figure 4. When the partition is withdrawn, the pockets can be refilled with chemicals, after which it is reinserted and the members which were removed are replaced, and in this way the chemical action of the device can be maintained effective at all times. v

In the drawing supports 39 have been shown underneath the grid-like partition and are in-' tended to assist in reducing the noises of the exhaust due to their gas defining action, but these supports can be dispensed with without seriously interfering with the operation of the device.-

Where no other means have been shown for securing members to the tubular member I0, it is to be understood that the parts are spotwelded or brazed in position. The transverse muifles l5 are inserted for the purpose of obtaining a quieter action as they serve to diffuse the gases and to reduce their velocities, but quite effective operations can be obtained without the use of these diffusing plates.

From the above description it will be apparent that the device described and illustrated on the drawing is simple and oi substantial construction and that it can be readily attached to the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine or substituted for the ordinary mufller now in common use and which will not only muiile the sounds from the exhaust, but also make the exhaust gases practically harmless by converting the monoxide gas to a dioxide.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A combined gas purifier and muiiler comprising, an elongated hollow member having both ends closed, one end closure being readily removable, the removable and closure having an inlet opening, a foraminated diifuser extending across the interior of the hollow member and spaced from the inner surface of the removable end closure, a partition extending transversely of the hollow member and spaced from the inner surface of the diffuser, opposed guideways on the transverse partition, and spaced from the latter, a longitudinally extending filter element extending between the two transverse partitions dividing the space between them into two compartments, one transverse partition having openings communicating wholly with one compartment and the other having openings communicating wholly with the other compartment, whereby gases entering through the opening in one end wall and leaving through the opening in the other end wall will also pass through the diil'users and through the filter.

' HIRAM H. BOYCE. 

